Scottish scientists have come a step closer to creating a "mind-reading machine" that can show mental images.
A team from the University of Glasgow have successfully decoded brain signals related to vision.
Six volunteers were shown images of people's faces displaying different emotions such as happiness, fear and surprise.
In a series of trials, parts of the images were randomly covered so that, for example, only the eyes or mouth were visible.
Participants were then asked to identify the emotion being displayed while electrodes attached to the scalp measured the volunteers' brainwaves.
The scientists were able to show that brainwaves varied greatly according to which part of the face was being looked at.
"Beta" waves, with a frequency of 12 hertz, carried information about the eyes, while four hertz "theta" waves were linked to the mouth.
Information was also encoded by the phase, or timing, of the brainwave, and less so by its amplitude, or strength.
Professor Philippe Schyns, who led the study, said: "It's a bit like unlocking a scrambled television channel. Before, we could detect the signal but couldn't watch the content; now we can.
"How the brain encodes the visual information that enables us to recognise faces and scenes has long been a mystery. While we are able to detect EEG activity in certain areas of the brain when particular tasks are performed, we've not known what information is being carried in those brainwaves.
"What we have done is to find a way of decoding brainwaves to identify the messages within."
The research is published in the online journal Public Library of Science Biology.
Prof Schyns said the study revealed how the brain tuned into different brainwave patterns to code different visual features.
"It is a bit like radiowaves coding different radio stations at different frequency bands," he added. "This work has huge potential in the development of brain-computer interfaces."
No doubt the expressions of happiness, fear and surprise were genuine ones. Darwin did some work on facial expressions. He probably got the idea when he was pulling faces at himself in the mirror. I've seen a picture of him as a young man all dressed up like a dog's dinner, as we say in England, meaning Mum did it. He looked a mirror person I thought. As one of the higher beings created by the evolutionary process, except when doing No. 2s over the taffrail, he would wouldn't he?
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"How the brain encodes the visual information that enables us to recognise faces and scenes has long been a mystery.
And long may it remain so. If them f***ers are not after our soul, wallets included, I'm a flat-footed Dutchman. And anyway--the advertising industry is miles ahead of them. Michael Parkinson smiles in the ad where he invites us to put something away for when we are no longer here. Pay our own funeral expenses I think he means. Not leave our "loved ones", as he calls them, saddled with any debts.
Quite interesting! If there would be such a thing as a mind reading shower cap,
would you want it? Not me! Some things are better left untold...uh unthought.
Bristol scientists have developed a robot rat which can seek out and identify objects using its whiskers.
The SCRATCHbot robot uses new technology which has been inspired by the use of touch in the animal kingdom.
The robot has been developed between the Bristol Robotics Lab and the University of Sheffield.
In the future, 'whisker technology' could be used where vision is seriously compromised, for example locating survivors of a fire.
Dr Tony Pipe from the University of the West of England said: "For a long time, vision has been the biological sensory modality most studied by scientists.
"But active touch sensing is a key focus for those of us looking at biological systems which have implications for robotics research.
"Sensory systems such as rats' whiskers have some particular advantages in this area. In humans, for example, where sensors are at the fingertips, they are more vulnerable to damage and injury than whiskers.
"Rats have the ability to operate with damaged whiskers and in theory broken whiskers on robots could be easily replaced, without affecting the whole robot and its expensive engineering."
The new technology has the potential for a number of further applications from using robots underground, under the sea, or in extremely dusty conditions.
The technology could also be used for tactile inspection of surfaces, such as materials in the textile industry, or closer to home in domestic products, for example vacuum cleaners that could sense textures for optimal cleaning.
Researchers from the Bristol Robotics Lab and the University of Sheffield worked together on the project.
Professor Tony Prescott from the University of Sheffield said: "Our project has reached a significant milestone in the development of actively-controlled, whisker-like sensors for intelligent machines.
"Although touch sensors are already employed in robots, the use of touch as a principal modality has been overlooked until now.
"By developing these biomimetic robots, we are not just designing novel touch-sensing devices, but also making a real contribution to understanding the biology of tactile sensing."
The SCRATCHbot robot will be demonstrated on July 1, 2009, at an international workshop looking at how robots can help us examine the workings of the brain.
Editor in Chief T R Yagain placed an order for the first Robotic Rat to be employed for cleaning of decks and the halls of A2K. Official Naming Ceremony to take place in the near future.
NEXT TO THE SCRATCHING POST–Tinker is a 6-year-old, black and white common house cat. While normally tame and pacified, Tinker recently became extremely upset over an issue with Plenty Of Fish (www.plentyoffish.com), the popular online dating site.
“This is mouse turd,” ranted Tinker, whose fur is in an uproar over Plenty Of Fish’s confusing advertising model. “It’s blatant misrepresentation and false advertising–the supply of fish on this website is not plentiful, it is not in abundance, nor is it apparent in any quantity whatsoever. The only thing that is plentiful is the amount of deceit procured by the website’s owners and publishers.”
Tinker, who likes to play with laser pointers and enjoys long walks on the fence, hasn’t been this upset since the time his owner had to trim cat poop stuck to the underside of his tail.
“The domain itself is an inherent falsehood,” continued Tinker, who craves companionship as much as he craves canned tuna in gravy. “The expectation of needy felines, those with a desire to engage in their seafood fantasies, is clearly mispresented by the ignorance of these humans. It should be called ‘Plenty Of Humans’, because there’s obviously no damned fish.”
When asked how he got to Plenty Of Fish, Tinker mentioned that he was referred by a friend. When asked again more clearly how he was physically able to navigate to PlentyOfFish.com much less any website, Tinker answered that he is capable of using his paws to manipulate the glide pad on his owner’s laptop computer, although he still hasn’t been able to get used to the mouse.
“Don’t get me started…”, warned Tinker, whose interests by the way include scratching, cleaning, and napping, and his favourite musician is Cat Stevens.
Plenty Of Fish did not comment on the issue, but then, no one contacted them to address it.
Tinker, who was not concerned with any legal issues surrounding his terse words. “I’ll retract my claws before I retract my statements,” said Tinker before clicking on a savoury web link for chunky chicken cat treats.
Tinker is now looking for a better idea using some better tools to clean his clinkers! The indignity of trimmers! Bring on the robotic rat.
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spendius
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Wed 25 May, 2011 07:24 am
Yikes!! That's some pussy.
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jespah
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Wed 25 May, 2011 07:59 am
Zounds, that is one angry kitteh.
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Old Goat
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Wed 25 May, 2011 08:51 am
ARMED POLICE ALERT!
A white tiger sparks armed police alert in Southampton, UK.
"The alert was raised by several members of the public yesterday afternoon when they spotted what they believed to be a live white tiger in a field near Hedge End, Southampton, Hampshire.
The police helicopter was scrambled and a golf course cleared after police arrived at the scene and confirmed the sighting.
Armed police were called to the scene in case the animal came too close to members of the public.
Specialist staff from nearby Marwell Zoo also attended to advise and potentially tranquilise the wild animal.
A local golf course was evacuated and plans were put in place to close the nearby M27 motorway if necessary in case the tiger moved in that direction.
But as police officers carefully approached the ''wild animal'' they realised it was not moving and the helicopter crew, using thermal imaging equipment, realised there was no heat source coming from it.
A spokeswoman for the force said: ''After a brief stalk through the Hedge End savannah, the officer realised the tiger was not moving and the air support using their cameras realised there was a lack of heat source."
Excellent toy, you could have some great fun with that.
First off, I'd scare the crap out of my dog, leave in his kennel.
If that happened in the US, I bet they would have shot it anyway.
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CalamityJane
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Wed 25 May, 2011 08:02 pm
@Old Goat,
Bloody Brits were fooled again!
On a lighter note: The Queen is all gracious host during the Obama visit,
however her face tells a different story, so does Obama's frown. In fact, only Michelle seems to enjoy herself.
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Old Goat
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Wed 25 May, 2011 11:13 pm
Apparently, it was very windy and Prince Philip was just about to ask Michelle if he could put his hands up her skirt to shield her privates from the papparazi.
A gentleman through and through.
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